Physics-Informed Neural Network for Parameter Identification: a Buck Converter Case Study

System-level condition monitoring methods estimate the electrical parameters of multiple components in a converter to assess their health status. The estimation accuracy and variation can differ significantly across parameters. For instance, inductance estimations are generally more accurate and stable than inductor resistance in a buck converter. However, these performance differences remain to be analyzed with a more systematic approach otherwise the condition monitoring results can be unreliable. Therefore, this paper analyzes the training loss landscape against multiple parameters of a buck converter to provide a systematic explanation of different performances. If the training loss is high and smooth, the estimated circuit parameter typically is accurate and has low variation. Furthermore, a novel physics-informed neural network (PINN) is proposed, offering faster convergence and lower computation requirements compared to an existing PINN method. The proposed method is validated through simulations, where the loss landscape identifies the unreliable parameter estimations, and the PINN can estimate the remaining parameters.

Uncertainty-Aware Artificial Intelligence for Gear Fault Diagnosis in Motor Drives

This paper introduces a novel approach to quantify the uncertainties in fault diagnosis of motor drives using Bayesian neural networks (BNN). Conventional data-driven approaches used for fault diagnosis often rely on point-estimate neural networks, which merely provide deterministic outputs and fail to capture the uncertainty associated with the inference process. In contrast, BNNs offer a principled framework to model uncertainty by treating network weights as probability distributions rather than fixed values. It offers several advantages: (a) improved robustness to noisy data, (b) enhanced interpretability of model predictions, and (c) the ability to quantify uncertainty in the decision-making processes. To test the robustness of the proposed BNN, it has been tested under a conservative dataset of gear fault data from an experimental prototype of three fault types at first, and is then incrementally trained on new fault classes and datasets to explore its uncertainty quantification features and model interpretability under noisy data and unseen fault scenarios.

Spike Talk in Power Electronic Grids -- Leveraging Post Moore's Computing Laws

Emerging distributed generation demands highly reliable and resilient coordinating control in microgrids. To improve on these aspects, spiking neural network is leveraged, as a grid-edge intelligence tool to establish a talkative infrastructure, Spike Talk, expediting coordination in next-generation microgrids without the need of communication at all. This paper unravels the physics behind Spike Talk from the perspective of its distributed infrastructure, which aims to address the Von Neumann Bottleneck. Relying on inferring information via power flows in tie lines, Spike Talk allows adaptive and flexible control and coordination itself, and features in synaptic plasticity facilitating online and local training functionality. Preliminary case studies are demonstrated with results, while more extensive validations are to be included as future scopes of work.

Data-Driven Graph Switching for Cyber-Resilient Control in Microgrids

Distributed microgrids are conventionally dependent on communication networks to achieve secondary control objectives. This dependence makes them vulnerable to stealth data integrity attacks (DIAs) where adversaries may perform manipulations via infected transmitters and repeaters to jeopardize stability. This paper presents a physics-guided, supervised Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-based framework that identifies communication-level cyberattacks in microgrids by analyzing whether incoming measurements will cause abnormal behavior of the secondary control layer. If abnormalities are detected, an iteration through possible spanning tree graph topologies that can be used to fulfill secondary control objectives is done. Then, a communication network topology that would not create secondary control abnormalities is identified and enforced for maximum stability. By altering the communication graph topology, the framework eliminates the dependence of the secondary control layer on inputs from compromised cyber devices helping it achieve resilience without instability. Several case studies are provided showcasing the robustness of the framework against False Data Injections and repeater-level Man-in-the-Middle attacks. To understand practical feasibility, robustness is also verified against larger microgrid sizes and in the presence of varying noise levels. Our findings indicate that performance can be affected when attempting scalability in the presence of noise. However, the framework operates robustly in low-noise settings.

Inferring Ingrained Remote Information in AC Power Flows Using Neuromorphic Modality Regime

In this paper, we infer ingrained remote information in AC power flows using spiking neural network (SNN) as edge processors for efficient coordination of power electronic converters. This work unifies power and information as a means of data normalization using a multi-modal regime in the form of spikes using energy-efficient neuromorphic processing and semantics theory. Firstly, we organize the synchronous realvalued measurements at each edge and translate them into asynchronous spike-based events to collect sparse data for training of SNN at each edge. Instead of relying on error-dependent supervised data-driven learning theory, we exploit the latency-driven unsupervised Hebbian learning rule to obtain modulation pulses for switching of power electronic converters that can now communicate among each other. Not only does this philosophy block exogenous path arrival for cyber attackers by dismissing the cyber layer, it also entails converter adaptation to system reconfiguration and parameter mismatch issues. We conclude this work by validating its energy-efficient and effective online learning performance under various scenarios in modified IEEE 14-bus system and under experimental conditions.

A Data-Driven Condition Monitoring Method for Capacitor in Modular Multilevel Converter

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) is a topology that consists of a high number of capacitors, and degradation of capacitors can lead to converter malfunction, limiting the overall system lifetime. Condition monitoring methods can be applied to assess the health status of capacitors and realize predictive maintenance to improve reliability. Current research works for condition monitoring of capacitors in an MMC mainly monitor either capacitance or equivalent series resistance (ESR), while these two health indicators can shift at different speeds and lead to different end-of-life times. Hence, monitoring only one of these parameters may lead to unreliable health status evaluation. This paper proposes a data-driven method to estimate capacitance and ESR at the same time, in which particle swarm optimization (PSO) is leveraged to update the obtained estimations. Then, the results of the estimations are used to predict the sub-module voltage, which is based on a capacitor voltage equation. Furthermore, minimizing the mean square error between the predicted and actual measured voltage makes the estimations closer to the actual values. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method are validated through simulations and experiments.

Semiconductor Devices Condition Monitoring Using Harmonics in Inverter Control Variables

The health status of power semiconductor devices in power converters is important but difficult to monitor. This paper analyzes the relationship between harmonics in inverter control variables and a health precursor (the on-state voltage Von of power semiconductor devices). Based on the analysis, harmonics can estimate Von without adding extra sensing circuits. The method is validated through simulations.

Data-Driven Stability Assessment of Power Electronic Converters with Multi-Resolution Dynamic Mode Decomposition

Harmonic instability occurs frequently in the power electronic converter system. This paper leverages multi-resolution dynamic mode decomposition (MR-DMD) as a data-driven diagnostic tool for the system stability of power electronic converters, not requiring complex modeling and detailed control information. By combining dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) with the multi-resolution analysis used in wavelet theory, dynamic modes and eigenvalues can be identified at different decomposition levels and time scales with the MR-DMD algorithm, thereby allowing for handling datasets with transient time behaviors, which is not achievable using conventional DMD. Further, the selection criteria for important parameters in MR-DMD are clearly defined through derivation, elucidating the reason for enabling it to extract eigenvalues within different frequency ranges. Finally, the analysis results are verified using the dataset collected from the experimental platform of a low-frequency oscillation scenario in electrified railways featuring a single-phase converter.

A Gray-Box Stability Analysis Mechanism for Power Electronic Converters

This paper proposes a gray-box stability analysis mechanism based on data-driven dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) for commercial grid-tied power electronics converters with limited information on its control parameters and topology. By fusing the underlying physical constraints of the state equations into data snapshots, the system dynamic state matrix and input matrix are simultaneously approximated to identify the dominant system dynamic modes and eigenvalues using the DMD with control (DMDc) algorithm. While retaining the advantages of eliminating the need for intrinsic controller information, the proposed gray-box method establishes higher accuracy and interpretable outcomes over the conventional DMD method. Finally, under experimental conditions of a low-frequency oscillation scenario in electrified railways featuring a single-phase converter, the proposed gray-box DMDc is verified to identify the dominant eigenvalues more accurately.

Neuromorphic Event-Driven Semantic Communication in Microgrids

Synergies between advanced communications, computing and artificial intelligence are unraveling new directions of coordinated operation and resiliency in microgrids. On one hand, coordination among sources is facilitated by distributed, privacy-minded processing at multiple locations, whereas on the other hand, it also creates exogenous data arrival paths for adversaries that can lead to cyber-physical attacks amongst other reliability issues in the communication layer. This long-standing problem necessitates new intrinsic ways of exchanging information between converters through power lines to optimize the system's control performance. Going beyond the existing power and data co-transfer technologies that are limited by efficiency and scalability concerns, this paper proposes neuromorphic learning to implant communicative features using spiking neural networks (SNNs) at each node, which is trained collaboratively in an online manner simply using the power exchanges between the nodes. As opposed to the conventional neuromorphic sensors that operate with spiking signals, we employ an event-driven selective process to collect sparse data for training of SNNs. Finally, its multi-fold effectiveness and reliable performance is validated under simulation conditions with different microgrid topologies and components to establish a new direction in the sense-actuate-compute cycle for power electronic dominated grids and microgrids.